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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27073348">Encroaching Shadows</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darespireka/pseuds/Darespireka'>Darespireka</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death, F/M, Halloween, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Horror, Implied/Referenced Torture</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-09 01:00:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>16,805</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27073348</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darespireka/pseuds/Darespireka</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It was the first Halloween since Voldemort's fall and Harry was looking forward to spending it safe and sound as a returning Seventh Year student. But as most things went for the unfortunate Boy-Who-Lived, this year would prove to be darker than the rest.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hermione Granger/Harry Potter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Something Sinister Has Arrived</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ever since the war’s end, Narcissa had more often than not wished Lucius perished in the final battle. Maybe then she would have had a few more moments of rest before having to dirty her own hands again.</p><p>Damn her wedding vows. She sneered slightly when the Auror fumbled as he took hold of her offered wand, cloak, and papers. He then turned to handle them in another room, leaving her alone in the visitor’s room.</p><p>At least some things didn't change. It had cost her a ridiculous number of galleons just to secure this 'highly supervised' visit to Azkaban. But as ever, the bureaucrats only talked a hard game. Their follow through was as lackluster as always. </p><p>Narcissa swiftly pulled out a second wand from her bespelled earring. The inexperienced fool hadn't thought to demand her jewelry, choosing to only confiscate her more obvious belongings.</p><p>Raising it swiftly, she wove a complex curse and sent it straight towards the Auror's retreating back.</p><p>The wizard paused and looked back, but Narcissa had already hidden the wand within the folds of her skirt.</p><p>While the Auror continued on his way to verify her paperwork and stow away her belongings, Narcissa took the opportunity to pull out an invisibility cloak from the other undetectable storage in her wedding ring and tug it on.</p><p>Without dementors, the prison had been left understaffed. There was no second guard to watch over her, only depending on a simple locking spell on the visitor cell's metal door. Narcissa settled herself against the wall next to the door. </p><p>Now all she had to do was wait for pandemonium to begin.</p><p>The curse she used was an old Malfoy special. One ciphered in blood magic and explicitly warned not to be used without taking extensive protective measures. Her precious boy offered to burn the lot—their family couldn’t be found holding such knowledge nowadays. But Narcissa told him, “Not yet. Tell me more first.” </p><p>The curse was meant to ensure a wizard stayed true to the family. But it noted that the effects were too unpredictable and the results, too uncontrollable. And not worth testing again when it decimated the entire branch family whose son it had been used on.</p><p>Narcissa didn't read too much into the effects. She was sold when Draco cited just how quickly the curse spread from victim to victim. According to the records, even casting a simple warming charm was enough to pass it onto someone else. There were also notes observing a physical altercation worked just as well.</p><p>Yes, she could have used <em> Imperius </em>instead, but Narcissa was feeling a tad nihilistic. She hoped one of the cursed Aurors would report at the Ministry and spread the mayhem. To see how much destruction it wrought on the fools who thought themselves free to celebrate their victory.</p><p>Narcissa watched as the Auror returned and found her missing. The rookie panicked, calling for his fellow Aurors. He hadn't bothered checking if she was still inside the locked cell. </p><p>A few of his colleagues came running in. “Halt please!” The rookie called out, “Identify yourself first.” The group cast identification spells on each other. They asked what the emergency was and Auror Stanley replied, “Narcissa Malfoy’s gone missing. I left her here in the visitor’s cell to check in her belongings and submit the paperwork but when I returned, she was gone.”</p><p>“Let’s check the prisoners are accounted for. And activate the second tier wards on the cells.” One of them ran off to do the latter. The others set about casting similar identification spells on the prisoners. </p><p>When that was done, the Auror Stanley finally opened the door of the visitor's cell and stepped inside. Narcissa slipped right out behind him—the fool left the door open behind him. Side-stepping the other three who had come to help, Narcissa waited.</p><p>It didn't take long for the curse to do its job.</p><p>One by one, the small group of Aurors lost sight of their original goal.</p><p>Instead of investigating, they started to rise up to the prisoners' increasingly vulgar taunts.</p><p>First with jeers and swears of their own, then with stinging hexes, and finally with repeated stunners. Any stronger, darker spells were prevented by the measures they had just enacted.</p><p>When some of the prisoners proved resilient to a <em> Stupefy</em>, the Aurors gave up all pretense and started to undo the wards forcibly. One of them must have been a Senior Auror. Newly promoted no doubt.</p><p>For several minutes, Narcissa witnessed a mimicry of the Dark Lord's revels. Except the heroes were the butchers and the villains were sheep to the slaughter.</p><p>Only one of the compromised Aurors lingered to play; the rest preferred to curse fatally and move on to the next. A small riot broke out when a prisoner wrestled a wand away from his tormentor. But he soon dropped dead and the riled up survivors continued on.</p><p>When they finally reached her husband's cell, all of them dueled for the right to kill him. Narcissa found the victor unexpected; the lanky redhead was the youngest of the bunch. A Weasley so maybe not so surprising. There were few who hated her family more.</p><p>Not that it mattered. When Auror Weasley finally finished undoing the wards, Narcissa hissed <em> Avada Kedavra </em> without hesitation. The boy fell on the spot, his eyes open and unseeing.</p><p>The other Aurors didn't notice, having already moved on further down the hall to access the next group of prisoners. A brief tussle ensued when they came across another patrolling Auror who had kept to his post.</p><p>The Malfoys waited motionlessly. When the screams started up again, Narcissa lowered her hood.</p><p>Lucius's eyes gleamed sharply. "Narcissa," he rasped. Her husband strode out of his cell with only a fraction of his usual haughtiness.</p><p>“Darling,” she drawled, “It's time to go. Draco is already waiting at the chateau.”</p><p>With pale skeletal hands, he shakily pulled on the invisibility cloak Narcissa offered him. He looked absolutely ghastly after only a few months in prison.</p><p>Invisible once more, Narcissa tucked her hand into the crook of Lucius's bony elbow and the two Malfoys strolled out of the newly reformed prison.</p><p>Behind them, Azkaban stood silent once more.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>It was Halloween today—hopefully, Harry’s first uneventful experience now that Voldemort was finally dead.</p><p>The Boy-Who-Lived had chosen to return to Hogwarts with Hermione to re-do his Seventh Year. Ron had been disappointed but stuck with his decision to go straight into the Auror Corps to forge his own path. The Golden Trio was down to two this year.</p><p>Despite this, Harry remained upbeat and optimistic for a good year. It has been so far.</p><p>He was Head Boy alongside Hermione as Head Girl. Professor McGonagall was reinstated as Headmistress and was being particularly lenient on all returning Seventh Year veterans.</p><p>Not that Harry was slacking. He was doing much better this year than he thought he would be—there was a strange peace in studying. It quieted his mind and kept it from... well other things.</p><p>Plus, Hermione was particularly pleased by his newfound interest in academia.</p><p>Bill had taken up the vacant DADA professor spot and Fleur had taken up Transfiguration. He trusted neither of them were going to try to kill him. Slughorn had come out of retirement once more to teach Potions—just until Prof. McGonagall found a proper replacement.</p><p>Harry also tried rekindling his relationship with Ginny but they didn't last longer than a week. Ginny was the one to call it quits first. She said the feelings just weren't there anymore—and suspected he was of the same mind.</p><p>He had agreed a little too quickly. Ginny zeroed in on it and dug out Harry's budding feelings for Hermione. Thankfully, instead of hexing him, Ginny simply hugged him and bid him good luck.</p><p>It didn't take long before Ginny was going steady with Neville after that. Harry was happy for the both of them.</p><p>Bolstered by Ginny's approval, Harry had even gotten Ron's blessings before the redhead was shipped off to guard Azkaban on his first Auror assignment. The trio had reunited for a night at Hogwarts with Prof. McGonagall's permission.</p><p>That was nearly three weeks ago.</p><p>Harry had yet plucked up the courage to confess—he was thinking closer to Christmas... OK so he was dragging his feet. He just didn't want to mess it up. It was Hermione after all.</p><p>Hermione who deserved only the best after all the crap he put her through at his side.</p><p>A piercing shriek cut through his meandering thoughts and Harry jerked upright, knocking over his pumpkin juice.</p><p>Hermione placed a concerned hand on his arm, “What's wrong Harry?”</p><p>It had been Hermione's scream. A memory then. Harry couldn't tell if it was the original or the many that echoed in their dorm when she was having a nightmare.</p><p>Before Harry could respond, the Great Hall doors slammed open. Professor McGonagall was arriving late to the Halloween feast.</p><p>The hall quieted down. The Headmistress was unusually unkempt. Her hair bun was half undone, spectacles missing, and cloak lopsided as if she had put it back on in a great rush.</p><p>McGonagall stated the school was to be on lockdown until further notice, causing a ripple of unease to rapidly spread throughout the Great Hall.</p><p>“What's the meaning of this Minerva?” Professor Flitwick asked.</p><p>“Settle down everyone. This is merely a precaution. I just spent the day at the Ministry on official business and was informed there was a riot of sorts at Azkaban. The DMLE is still working on getting a clearer picture of the situation and the news has not yet gone to the public. But with our new and improved protections in place, I can assure all of you that any escapee will be kept out of our hallowed halls. No one comes in, and no one goes out.”</p><p>Harry and Hermione silently glanced at each other and prayed Ron was alright. When the feast ended, Harry watched as Hermione quickly penned a letter to check up on their friend.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>As it turned out, lockdown for the student body had very little impact on their daily routines. The only notable changes were the cancellation of all Hogsmeade weekends until further notice and the extra trips students had to make to the Owlery for outgoing letters. Only official Hogwarts owls were allowed to pass the protective dome etched around Hogwarts.</p><p>Other than that, students went about their boarding school life with nary a protest. Most of the students actually approved of the overreaching measures needed to keep them all safe—anything was better than last year. </p><p>Inbound mail was collected and monitored by House Elves from the Owlery and distributed at breakfast per usual. Students still got their daily Quibbler and Witch Weekly copies—the Prophet no longer the paper of choice for their bias during Voldemort's second rise.</p><p>Nothing in the news stood out. The riot was mentioned but swept under the fold because no escapees were reported by the Ministry. Other than that, it was the same old stories. Someone got murdered, someone got into a duel with someone else, some activist group was picketing something or another, some Muggles witnessed a wizard performing magic, etc.</p><p>Some grumbled when their families stopped writing, but no one thought it was related. Harry and Hermione never got a reply from Ron, but Ginny mentioned offhand that her parents had written to her. They hadn't mentioned Ron at all, much less whether he had gotten injured or worse. So the duo assumed Ron must have been too busy and forgot to write back.</p><p>It didn't take more than a week for most of the student body to forget they were in lockdown at all.</p><p>Well, until students started to go missing.</p><p>Eve Cattermole was the first. The Headmistress made the announcement to request for information when her roommates reported Eve missing from both her classes and dorms. But no one had seen her.</p><p>The next to disappear was Terry Boot nearly a week later. Harry tried scouring the Marauder's Map for the two but found nothing.</p><p>Two days later, a Fourth Year Slytherin failed to show for Potions class. And a day later, a Sixth Year Gryffindor fell victim.</p><p>The last two were reportedly missing within hours of each other—Parvati Patil and Dennis Creevey.</p><p>Six students of various ages, genders, and Houses seemingly disappeared into thin air.</p><p>By then everyone was wondering what the lockdown measures were even for.</p><p>McGonagall told the students not to panic, that the professors were doing everything in their power to find the missing children.</p><p>The professors canceled classes for the day. While Prof. McGonagall and Hagrid prowled the grounds, the Weasley professors interviewed all students who had reportedly been the last to see the victims before their disappearances. The rest of the adults took predetermined sections of the castle and scoured it for clues.</p><p>Classes resumed without news, only another announcement stating that they were still looking into the matter. However, an early 8 PM curfew was initiated and students were warned to stick together going forward.</p><p>The student body hunkered down.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>It'd only been three days since the professors searched the castle when Hermione came to Harry looking rather shifty. “Harry, can I talk to you in our dorm? Alone?” Hermione must have just come back from her impromptu meeting with Professor McGonagall.</p><p>Harry assumed he hadn't been invited because he was supposed to be hosting Quidditch practice like a responsible captain at the time. But Harry hadn’t wanted to leave Hermione by herself and she refused to go to the pitch in the rain. So he ditched practice and stayed inside of his room.</p><p>After the professor left, Harry came out of his room and offered to go with her anyway but Hermione refused. She'll be fine, she said. Instead, she told him to wait at the library and to sit at a table within Madam Pince's eyesight. She didn't want him to be alone either.</p><p>Harry insisted on walking her to the gargoyle before heading to the library afterward.</p><p>Shaking his irrelevant thoughts aside, Harry finally responded “Of course, lead the way.” He flicked his wand and his stuff quickly packed themselves into his bag.</p><p>Hermione grabbed his hand, and Harry gripped it in surprise. Her hand was clammy and she was peering up at him with what looked almost like hope in her eyes.</p><p>For a brief moment, he entertained the idea that Hermione was going to make the first move. Both Ginny and Neville had been egging him on ever since Harry told the former about his feelings; Around two weeks ago, Ginny had confronted him asking why he still hadn't made a move. Apparently, Hermione had just a big of a crush as he did and Ginny couldn't understand why they were still pussyfooting around it. Harry wasn't able to do much more than stammer and beg her to lower her voice.</p><p>Harry would have definitely preferred awkward romantic confessions over the conversation that really followed.</p><p>After they got to the dorms, Hermione cast multiple privacy spells, locked the door, blocked the fireplace, and closed the curtains over all of the windows.</p><p>His eyebrows rose at her paranoia.</p><p>Only after she was satisfied did she blurt out, “Something's wrong with Professor McGonagall!”</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“I thought she just wanted to catch up on how the Yule Ball preparations were coming along or something. But oh Merlin, I think she's behind the missing students Harry!”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <b>- TWENTY MINUTES AGO -</b>
</p><p>Hermione took a seat across from the Headmistress after giving her salutations. She leaned down to pet one of the new cats in the office, a pretty Bengal that she hadn't seen before. The cat swiped at her and Hermione snatched her hand away just in time. “Not a very friendly kitty are you,” Hermione whispered.</p><p>The cat came back after a moment and rubbed her head against Hermione's hand, purring. Hermione smiled and was strangely reminded of Parvati when she looked into the cat's brown eyes. It was a startling dark shade that didn't occur with normal cats. Perhaps it was just a transfiguration.</p><p>“Miss Granger,” the Headmistress finally greeted, drawing Hermione's attention back, “Thank you for coming in on such short notice. Unfortunately, this whole missing student business has taken up most of my time. But I saw an opportunity and couldn't resist. Harry's at Quidditch isn't he? I'm sure you felt lonely in his absence?"</p><p>"Oh not at all, Professor." Hermione could barely keep the frown from her face. What a strange thing for her to ask.</p><p>Prof. McGonagall changed the subject, "So how are your classes coming along?”</p><p>“Wonderfully. Bill and Fleur have really taken to their new roles—though I do miss your style of teaching at times. I am glad Professor Slughorn agreed to come out of retirement again. He's loads better than—” Hermione realized Professor Snape portrait was right there and quickly corrected herself, “I mean I feel more prepared for my NEWTs than ever before.” A snort resounded from her left and Hermione flushed with embarrassment.</p><p>She hastily continued, “It has taken some adjustment to finish Arithmancy and Astronomy through owl correspondence. Especially with all those extra trips to the Owlery. It's really unfortunate that Professor Sinistra and Professor Vector chose not to return this year.”</p><p>“Ah yes. Sadly, both of my colleagues needed more time to recover still and there just wasn't enough interest to fill those roles before the year started. It was a hard decision, but for the best.”</p><p>McGonagall poured hot tea into the awaiting cups and handed one to Hermione. She stared rather expectantly at the younger witch but Hermione didn't exactly hear a question to respond to.</p><p>So she fidgeted and played with her cup before glancing around the changed office. Most of the portraits were missing. Instead, there was a wide variety of cat trees and cat perches decorating the office now. Along with six cats Hermione had never seen before. “Are all of these cats yours Professor?”</p><p>An almost fanatic smile stretched across the old madam's face, distorting it in a way that had Hermione's nape hairs rising in trepidation. “Yes. They're all mine. A beautiful collection don't you think?”</p><p>She bent down to pick one of them up—an orange tabby—and hissed when the cat proceeded to maul her dominant hand with its teeth and claws. “Mr. Boot! How dare you—“ The cat hissed, his back arching defensively.</p><p>Hermione's eyes widened for an instant. Her brain fired away. Boot. Terry Boot. An unnaturally colored cat. Parvati. Six cats, six students.</p><p>She quickly masked her reaction, “Mr. Boot? Like Puss-in-the-Boots? I am surprised you know of the Muggle film. I quite liked it myself.”</p><p>McGonagall narrowed her eyes at Hermione's carefully guileless expression. “Perhaps. He came named as such prior to my possession but I'm sure I'll find a better name for him soon.”</p><p>Hermione glanced at the still bleeding wounds, “Perhaps you should have Madam Pomfrey look at...” She gestured to the Headmistress's wounds. Hermione listened to her gut and refrained from offering to heal them herself.</p><p>Prof. McGonagall glared at the still dripping wounds. “I suppose I should. Please stay and drink your tea Miss Granger. I'll be right back in a moment.” She exited without waiting for Hermione's reply.</p><p>Hermione brought the shaking cup to her lips but jolted when Professor Snape's portrait hissed, “Don't drink the bloody tea Miss Granger. Use that insufferable brain of yours and connect the dots you idiot. Leave and don't come back here. Minerva is under some kind of curse. Run before she comes back.”</p><p>The warning had Hermione sniffing the tea and paling. It smelt of Dreamless Sleep. The cup clattered onto the ground, its contents soaking into the carpet. “Professor...”</p><p>“Leave you foolish girl! Quickly!” Professor Snape barked.</p><p>Hermione fled back to the only safety she could think of.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>“...I'm pretty sure she turned them into cats Harry!” Hermione hyperventilated, “She knows that I know now. Since I didn't drink the tea. Harry, what do I do?”</p><p>“Calm down Hermione. If Professor McGonagall is under a curse, let's go to Bill. He was a curse-breaker before he picked up the professorship remember? He can help.”</p><p>Hermione finally breathed properly. “Yes. Right. Bill. He and Fleur will surely know what to do.” She graced Harry with a relieved smile, “Thanks Harry. I knew I could depend on you.”</p><p>Harry's heart fluttered and he flushed red, “Yes well... I thought it was only right to return the favor. Since I'm usually the one depending on you and all.”</p><p>Hermione brushed a chaste kiss on his cheek before grabbing his hand again to tug him towards the door. Harry felt like he was floating on cloud nine the entire way to Bill's office.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Harry watched as Hermione knocked on the dark mahogany door. Bill was surprised to see the two of them but warmly invited them in anyway. "You know you two shouldn't be out and about right? It's past curfew."</p><p>“I think Professor McGonagall is under some kind of curse,” Hermione blurted out, “I'm fairly certain she turned Terry Boot, Parvati Patil, and the four other missing students into cats! They're trapped in her office. And she's set her eyes on me next. I-I wouldn't be here if Professor Snape's portrait hadn't warned me to leave.”</p><p>The DADA professor blinked in astonishment, “Why would the Headmistress turn a bunch of students into cats for?”</p><p>“I don't know,” Hermione replied miserably, “But I <em> swear </em> I smelt the scent of a sleeping potion in my cup. The valerian was unmistakable. Plus Professor Snape’s portrait told me not to drink it—he's the one who said she was under a curse...”</p><p>“Look—I know you two are probably worried about the missing students. I am too. But we haven't found any signs of foul play. Or signs of an escaped convict. At this point, we honestly think they might have gotten trapped into some unknown room that only shows up under certain circumstances. A bunch were reported during the restoration remember? We've been doing sweeps of classrooms, closets, and windows on our assigned floors every morning, in between classes, and at night. Professor McGonagall was the one to arrange it and takes twice as many shifts as the rest of us—”</p><p>Harry piped up in her defense, “Please Bill, could you just double-check? Surely it wouldn't hurt to make sure? It's Hermione after all! She wouldn't accuse McGonagall of something like this without good reason.”</p><p>Bill settled back down, “Right. Sorry, Hermione. Very well, I'll see if I can catch Minerva tonight. Fleur and I have the patrol shift after hers and Trelawney's. I'm sure it's nothing.”</p><p>The oldest Weasley then gave Hermione a look of pity, “It's not that I don't trust you Hermione—it's just you look rather stressed. I know you're taking literally every NEWT aside from Divination but a good night's sleep might do you wonders.”</p><p>Hermione lowered her eyes and Harry could tell she was trying to hide her resentment. NEWTs had little to do with the bags under her eyes. Sleep was hard to come by when she was still plagued by nightmares of the war.</p><p>“Of course,” she said in a falsely happy tone, “I'll head to bed soon. Just... just be careful OK? If she <em> is </em> under a curse, she might react negatively to your inquiries...”</p><p>Bill patted her on the shoulder and Harry winced, “It's not my first... what's the word? Road? Rode? Oh, Rodeo. I promise I'll handle this with all due diligence. Plus Fleur will be there to ensure I don't go in half-cocked.” Hermione was only marginally reassured.</p><p>Harry tugged Hermione towards the door and replied for the both of them, “Thanks Bill. Goodnight, give Fleur our regards as well.”</p><p>“Will do. Have a good one you two. Do try to stay out of trouble.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>By the time the two of them reached their dorm, Hermione's worry hung like a visible cloud around her. She sighed heavily.</p><p>Harry dared to pull her into a tight hug, “It'll be OK Hermione. We beat Voldemort. Whatever this new threat is, we'll beat it too.”</p><p>She squeezed back, “I really hope so Harry.”</p><p>They bid each other goodnight.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The next day, anyone entering the Great Hall for breakfast was greeted with the hanging body of one Professor Trelawney. A dark, coagulated stain spread out underneath her, courtesy of her slit wrists. The wall behind her was marred by words written in blood:</p><p>“<em>Shadows have encroached on the waning light this Hallows' Eve. The muddled need take what they desire lest purity will always conquer.” </em></p><p>The Firsties who happened on the scene screamed their heads off. Others loitered around the entrance, glancing furtively for a professor to arrive while whispering frantically to one another. Some of them were kind enough to block off any new kids from viewing the morbid scene. A pair of Sixth Years ran to get Harry and Hermione. Others ran to check the professors' offices.</p><p>At the sound of frantic banging, Harry and Hermione scurried out of their dorm. The panting students could only wheeze out “G-Great Hall.” The two Heads rushed off accordingly, both clutching their wands in white-knuckled grips for battle. When they skidded to a stop at the back of the growing crowd, they pushed their way to the front.</p><p>When they saw the swaying body hanging from a chandelier, Hermione gasped and Harry ashened.</p><p>“Oh Merlin,” Ginny exclaimed, having tailed behind them with Neville.</p><p>Finally, a professor came through the staff entrance—Professor Slughorn. The poor man missed a step, blinked twice, and fainted dead away. The students stared.</p><p>The rest of the professors filed in soon after. First came Professor Flitwick—who jumped a foot into the air and then immediately cut the rope to bring his colleague's body down and out of sight. Then came the Weasleys, followed by Prof. McGonagall and Prof. Sprout. Strangely enough, Filch and Madam Pince trailed in close behind them.</p><p>Fleur cast a <em> Patronus </em> to send for Madam Pomfrey. Professor McGonagall stared silently at the words splattered across the wall. Madam Pince looked green. Filch stared at the floor like he desperately wished he had magic to summon a scrubber in order to start attacking the stains.</p><p>Professor Sprout went about reviving Professor Slughorn, and Bill finally cast a bunch of spells that brought up a privacy wall, separating the professors from their onlookers.</p><p>Hermione clutched helplessly at Harry's hand. If Harry still held any delusions of an ordinary final year at Hogwarts, they were thoroughly shattered that morning.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Double, Double Toil and Trouble</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Classes were canceled again and the students were redirected back to their common rooms. There they all murmured and speculated behind closed doors on what could have happened. About what those words on the wall meant.</p><p>Some assumed Prof. Trelawney had done it for a final hurrah after having finally lost her mind. Others defended the old Professor, saying it had to be some kind of warning. There were still six missing students—the timing couldn't just be a coincidence. Maybe whoever or whatever got the students, got Trelawney too.</p><p>Harry and Hermione were among the latter. They took the opportunity to invite all returning DA members to the Head dormitory for a private meeting. Hermione was insistent on it since Prof. McGonagall was bound to be occupied with Prof. Trelawney's mysterious death.</p><p>It was a rather large group consisting of Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Dean, Padma, Seamus, Luna, Justin, Michael, Hannah, Ernie, and Susan. Harry was relieved he still had so many friends in the castle.</p><p>Dean started them all off with, “So do you think she really hung herself, or is there a murderer on the loose again?”</p><p>Ginny voiced her own doubts about Trelawney's staged suicide, “...There was a lot of blood. I don't know if she could have written all of those words while bleeding and then have the strength to hang herself afterward. A bit excessive to be honest.”</p><p>“She could have used animal blood?” Hermione offered, thinking back to their Second Year. A more morbid thought came to mind as well, “Or it could be someone else's blood?”</p><p>“I've seen memories of Prof. Trelawney making her real prophecies. She goes into a trance and doesn't remember them afterward. There's no way she could have written it on the wall if she had been the one prophesying,” Harry asserted. “There had to be someone else involved.”</p><p>Seamus paled and continued that train of thought, “So, we should go on the assumption there's a dark wizard or witch somewhere on Hogwarts grounds. Maybe someone <em> did </em> escape from that Azkaban incident on Halloween. The words reference <em> Hallows' Eve </em>—that'd be Halloween.”</p><p>A number of them grew afraid at the thought.</p><p>“But McGonagall put the school on lockdown right when she returned...” Susan protested weakly.</p><p>Neville added to the theory, “Maybe they got in before she got back. After all, the riot didn't happen <em> on </em>Halloween. She only found out about it then.”</p><p>Padma wrangled her hands, “They're probably behind the student disappearances right? I mean we searched everywhere and they didn't even show up on Harry's map.” The Marauder's Map was an open secret among their friends due to the disappearances. With every missing student, both Harry and Hermione had poured over the old parchment for some sign of them. None of their names had shown up.</p><p>The Patil twin continued in a whisper of fear, “Do you think... do you think that means they're...they're... <em> dead </em> too?” The poor girl looked close to tears. Dean drew her into a hug to comfort her.</p><p>Hermione glanced at Harry and he nodded, prompting her to tell them her real theory. “No. I don't think she's dead Padma.” Hermione's voice hitched for a second before she could continue, “I-I think Professor McGonagall is behind this. She's been cursed somehow—and I think she transfigured the six missing students into cats. Something experimental maybe since they didn't show up on the Map.”</p><p>The whole group minus Harry stared at her like she had gone barmy.</p><p>“I'm serious. We already asked Professor Weasley to double-check last night. Prof. McGonagall came back looking out of sorts on Halloween remember? Right before she called the school into lockdown? What if it wasn't to keep others out but to keep us in? No one would suspect her. It...It would make sense if it was McGonagall.”</p><p>The group glanced helplessly at each other. If the Headmistress was under a curse, who could they reach out to that they could trust?</p><p>Harry tried his best to step up, “Look, just be careful around the Headmistress. Don't go taking tea with her alone. Make your excuses and keep the rest of the students away whenever possible. Bill’s a talented curse-breaker and Fleur was his apprentice for a time. I'm sure the two of them will have the situation handled soon.”</p><p>“I can ask Daddy to investigate the Azkaban riots, to double-check if anyone escaped that the Ministry isn't telling us,” Luna offered.</p><p>“Thanks Luna,” Harry accepted gratefully.</p><p>“So we're ignoring Trelawney's possible prophecy then?” Ginny asked.</p><p>“We can try to take precautions but there's not much we can do with it to be honest,” Hermione replied, “The <em> muddled </em> could refer to a whole host of possibilities. It could be literal, it could be figurative—and muddled about what? And who knows what <em> desire </em> refers to within those contexts. Also '<em>Purity will always conquer </em>' isn't necessarily a bad thing either? It could be purity of heart, purity of soul, purity of mind...”</p><p>“Or it could refer to the Malfoy family motto,” Ernie rebutted.</p><p>Hermione blinked, “But Malfoy didn't even come back to school this year. No one knows where he is. Not sure how it could possibly be related.”</p><p>"Just saying. '<em>Purity will always conquer </em> ' or '<em>Sanctimonia Vincet Semper' </em>is a rather specific phrase.”</p><p>The room was silent for a moment as they all made their own conclusions. Some of them were perfectly willing to blame the Malfoys even though Narcissa Malfoy had been instrumental to Harry's survival during the Final Battle.</p><p>Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Let's shelve it for now. Hermione and I will try to catch up with Bill—er Professor Weasley and see if he at least confirmed whether McGonagall is under a curse or not. We'll each observe and take note if there's anyone else acting suspiciously. Then we'll regroup in the Room of Requirement this Saturday to pool our findings. Be careful. Stay vigilant. Stick together. OK, guys?”</p><p>“Yes Harry,” they chorused.</p><p>They all filed out of the Head dormitory, leaving Harry and Hermione behind.</p><p>Hermione bumped shoulders with a despondent Harry. This time she took the initiative and pulled Harry into a hug. “I thought we were past all of this,” Harry whispered against her shoulder, “Voldemort's dead dammit. We made sure didn't we?”</p><p>“I'm sure it's not him. This could just be a fanatic. Voldemort didn't come into power all on his own after all.”</p><p>Harry stayed silent and brooding. Hermione held him and sighed.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Harry and Hermione stayed in their rooms, trying uselessly to do some NEWTs self-study. Harry mostly kept his eye on the Marauder's Map, waiting until the cluster of professors finally dispersed from the Great Hall and back to their offices or suites.</p><p>He nudged a distracted Hermione and pointed at the map. “I'm going to try to talk to Bill now. To see if he can tell us what happened.” Hermione scrambled to get up, but Harry placed a hand on her shoulder. “I'm going alone. Professor McGonagall is still on the prowl and I don't want you crossing paths with her. Not when you could be her next victim.”</p><p>“But you're going to be with me—we shouldn't be alone, remember?” she objected.</p><p>“I doubt that my presence is going to stop her from demanding you go with her alone,” Harry explained grimly. “She is still Headmistress. Curse or no curse.”</p><p>“What about the cloak then? Besides, there's nothing stopping her from coming into the dorm while you're gone. She knows the location and the password,” Hermione argued.</p><p>Harry paused, “Fine. But you have to leave the moment we spot McGonagall OK? I don't want you anywhere near her.”</p><p>“Promise. I'll bring the map with me under the cloak just in case. Keep your Protean coin on you. If it heats up with a message, it means she's nearby.”</p><p>“Alright.”</p><p>The two of them headed down, trekking toward Bill's office where the map said both Weasleys would be.</p><p>When they arrived, the door was closed and warded off. Harry knocked, “Bill? Are you in there? Can we talk?”</p><p>No response. He knocked again louder. When Bill still didn't come to the door, Harry pressed his ear against the wood to try listening for him instead.</p><p>He could make out a low buzz of sound. Likely a <em> Muffliato </em> had been cast. Harry jumped when he realized he could still make out a wordless, high pitched scream. Fleur's scream.</p><p>Harry started to bang on the door, “Fleur? Bill? Are you two OK in there?” Panic infused his voice. Audible snarling and pounding could be heard whenever he pressed his ear against the door. More howls.</p><p>Hermione must have done the same. Harry watched her floating wand appear; Hermione cast a dozen spells at the door to no effect.</p><p>“I-I can't get the wards down Harry,” Hermione whispered frantically. “Whatever or whoever got to Trelawney and McGonagall must have gotten to them too.”</p><p>The two glanced helplessly at each other. Hermione made the decision to leave; She pulled Harry under the cloak with her and quickly dragged them both towards the Charms corridor. Hopefully, Professor Flitwick would be able to help.</p><p>Harry gave Hermione a look. “Stay,” he mouthed to her before leaving the safety of the cloak.</p><p>He knocked quickly on Flitwick's door. The wizard opened the door and greeted Harry with surprise, “Harry Potter! What on earth brings you to my door at this hour? I know you're Head Boy, but the curfew is for your own safety.”</p><p>Harry immediately blurted out, “Professor! Bill's in some kind of trouble! I was trying to speak with him about this thing I asked him yesterday, but his door was all warded and we—I mean I heard screaming, snarling, and loud banging. Fleur's in there too and—I couldn't get through the wards. What if whoever got Professor Trelawney got to them too?! We have to go back to check!” Harry got more worked up as he spoke.</p><p>“Now wait just a minute. My colleagues and I have combed over poor Sybil and the Great Hall all day Mister Potter. The blood was hers and there were no signs of any other wizard or witch when she took her own life. I don't know what motivated her to make such a gruesome stage as her parting message, but there was no one else involved.”</p><p>Harry opened his mouth to argue, but the Charms Professor cut him off and continued, “As for <em> Mister and Missus </em>Weasley, perhaps there's a good reason as to why the door was warded? Did anyone else hear this... screaming? Loud noises? Or was there at least some kind of noise dampening charm cast?”</p><p>Harry flushed when he caught onto Flitwick's insinuations, “W-well yes. I didn't hear it unless I was right next to the door—but Professor! Surely you can't believe there's nothing sinister afoot?! Professor Trelawney might have been a bit off her rocker, but she <em> has </em> had prophecies before! What if those words were true?”</p><p>“Then let the professors handle it,” Flitwick advised, “I know we've put a lot of expectations on your shoulders because of You-Know-Who, but we have it handled from here. When we know more, we'll inform you and the whole student body. For now, just head back to bed Mister Potter. Classes will resume in the morning.” The professor practically shoved Harry out the door.</p><p>Harry stood still for a few moments before an invisible hand tugged at his sleeve.</p><p>He took the hint and headed back with an invisible Hermione in tow. There wasn't much else they could do right now. Harry's face flushed again when he thought about what Bill and Fleur might have been up to in the office. He was sure if he could see Hermione's face, it would be a similar hue.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Except classes did not resume the next day. Not really.</p><p>That morning, Harry and Hermione waited in their Transfiguration classroom for Fleur to arrive, but she never showed. Harry checked the map behind his textbook and found her and Bill's names still somewhere in the latter's office. The two of them exchanged worried glances.</p><p>When the class period ended, the group of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Seventh Years headed to Charms. There, they found the previous class of Fourth Years running out the door with petrified looks on their faces.</p><p>“Now that's not very nice children,” Prof. Flitwick scolded from the door. The normally affable professor appeared completely different this morning. His previously coiffured hair and mustache were all awry and frizzled, almost like he had stuck his finger into an electric socket somehow.</p><p>A glimpse into the classroom showed it had been visited by a tornado overnight. Bits of parchment were scattered haphazardly all over. Desks and chairs were piled here and there, some broken, some fused together in illogical ways. Strange knickknacks floated here and there.</p><p>The mad Professor gestured excitedly at his next set of students loitering at the door, an untrustworthy gleam in his eye. “Well? Come in youngsters, come in and see my latest work! Come <em> play</em>!” The part-goblin practically bounced off the walls in his delirium. Harry wrestled his way to the front and slammed the door closed.</p><p>It was obvious something was seriously wrong. Flitwick had gone mental overnight. Fleur and Bill were sequestered somewhere in their rooms and Harry doubted they intended to leave them any time soon. He took charge and ordered most of his classmates to go back to their dorms until further notice and to pass the message along to any student they came across. He and former DA members would take charge of investigating the professors.</p><p>Harry and Hermione sent off <em> Patronus </em> messages to retrieve their remaining Hufflepuff counterparts. It didn't take long for them to skid around the corner to join them. They had been waiting on Bill for DADA two corridors down.</p><p>Harry paired most of them off and assigned each pair places to check up on. “If the professor shows any signs of being cursed, bar their doors with <em> Colloportus, </em> and ward the structure with <em> Utintus Diaboli </em>.”</p><p>Hermione quickly helped demonstrate the two spells on Flitwick's door and showed them the wand movements several times afterward. Harry continued when everyone felt comfortable with the spells, “Once you're done, come up to the Come-and-Go room to report.”</p><p>Ginny and Neville promised to check the Potions classroom to see what Slughorn was up to and then round up any students in the dungeons to escort them back to their dorms. Both had intimidating enough reputations that even the Slytherins would think twice before disobeying their orders.</p><p>Dean and Padma would make the trek to the greenhouses to check on Professor Sprout and deal with any students they came across. Harry also asked them to make a pit stop at Hagrid's hut on their way back. No one should be out there since there weren't any Care of Magical Creatures classes scheduled on Tuesdays. He hoped Hagrid had avoided getting caught up in all since he hadn't been in the Great Hall yesterday morning like the rest of the professors.</p><p>Seamus and Luna would head back to the DADA and Transfiguration classrooms just in case Bill or Fleur showed up. They promised to swing by the library afterward to clear out any students they encountered.</p><p>Justin and Michael would make their way to the infirmary and see if Madam Pomfrey was also infected. If so, they would have to subdue her and ensure any students in her care were not further harmed.</p><p>The rest of them would head to the Room of Requirement first and set-up there. As long as they were specific in their request, it should prevent the professors from entering. One of them would keep an eye on the map and send backup if needed. None of them were to engage with McGonagall, Flitwick, or the Weasleys if they could help it.</p><p>The troop dispersed with determined expressions on their faces.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The larger group arrived in the Room in short order. The door opened to reveal a miniaturized Great Hall that situated only a single long table instead of the usual four.</p><p>They set themselves up and started discussing what their next steps should be.</p><p>Susan brought up the question of who they could reach out to if all the professors were compromised.</p><p>They made a list of other Order members. Their choices were narrowed down to Kingsley Shacklebolt, Arthur and Molly Weasley, and maybe Aberforth Dumbledore. No one else was in a position to help them. They resolved to pen a separate letter to all of them just in case.</p><p>Hannah and Ernie volunteered to bring the letters to the Owlery to get them delivered.</p><p>A grumbling stomach also reminded them that the Great Hall had been closed for investigation, and they needed to make a request to the House Elves to feed everyone. Hannah and Ernie added a stop at the kitchens to their trip. They would see if the Elves could send food to the dorms. Hermione thanked them and wished them safe travels before the two headed off.</p><p>In the meantime, Hermione and Harry set about outlining what they knew about the situation and what their suspicions were, using a chalkboard that appeared on the wall. While they were doing that, Susan kept an eye on the map to track their friends' progress.</p><p>The Azkaban riots, McGonagall and the missing students/cats, the Weasley professors, Flitwick, Trelawney, and her full Prophecy all were all jotted down. A side note was added to the prophecy to point to the Malfoys' family motto. Harry's last addition was linking the McGonagall to the Ministry—that had been the most likely place the Headmistress had gotten cursed from.</p><p>They started a list of Azkaban prisoners and were disheartened by the length and how each seemed just as likely to be the perpetrator of their situation as another. Hermione was tempted to cross it off. The more she thought about it, the less likely whoever was behind this had snuck into Hogwarts. The curse was more likely replicating without the original castor. She scribbled down her argument next to the list.</p><p>Hermione put down Professor Snape's portrait on the side. The dour man must have seen something while he was in the Headmistress's office. He had been the only painting left on the wall during the tea fiasco. Looking back, Hermione realized not even Professor Dumbledore's portrait had remained hanging.</p><p>Following the train of thought, Hermione wondered if the other portraits or maybe ghosts might have seen something. She noted that down as well.</p><p>A question mark was placed for how the curse was spreading. Was it touch? Or proximity? Or did the cursed have to cast the specific curse to another? Was the cursed witch in control of her actions or was it more like an <em> Imperius </em>? Or was there an object they hadn't noticed that was the source of the curse? Or some combination of them all?</p><p>What was the purpose of the curse in the first place? There was no rhyme or reason for what they'd witnessed so far. McGonagall's obsession with cats, Trelawney's suicide, Fleur and Bill's seclusion, and Prof. Flitwick's 11-out-of-10 personality—none of them seemed connected.</p><p>But it was all they had at the moment.</p><p>Hermione and Harry sat next to each other to mull it all over.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Ginny and Neville made their way down to the dungeons, ordering anyone they came across to head back to their dorms. Classes were being canceled until further notice. They were under no circumstances to open the door to any professors. The frightened students did as they were told.</p><p>Professor Slughorn was thankfully in his classroom. Unfortunately, he too had fallen victim to the nameless curse. The Potions classroom had been glamoured to look more like a cartoonish Olympic temple, cloud-like fog included. The man in question was in a toga and stank as if he had dived into a vat of alcohol.</p><p>The inebriated wizard tried to get handsy with Ginny after he approached them with his greetings, but she hexed him reflexively with a stunner.</p><p>He made no effort to defend himself and was knocked out instantly. When Neville resuscitated him, Slughorn remained this strange drunken creature that babbled and got far too close for comfort. Ginny collected Sober-Up potion from the stores behind the transfigured classroom and poured it down his throat, but it had no effect.</p><p>The professor went on to ramble about people long gone, including Tom Riddle, Lucius Malfoy, Cornelius Fudge, and a host of other people they'd only ever heard of in the papers or in books. About how <em> his </em> students were going on to change the world and it was all thanks to him.</p><p>He peered up at Neville and hiccuped, “I don't know you boy. Who are you again? Are you famous? Surely you know who <em> I </em>am?”</p><p>Neville and Ginny left him be after that. At least he seemed innocuous enough. They cast the two charms on the door of the classroom to keep him inside and others out before making a sweep through the rest of the dungeons. When they were done, they trudged back up toward the seventh floor.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Dean and Padma cast worried glances at each other when they heard a young witch crying outside the greenhouses. They made their way over to the Second or Third Year Slytherin cautiously.</p><p>“What happened?” Padma asked gently. The little blonde girl sniffled, “Professor Sprout was really scary today.”</p><p>“Really? Professor Sprout is usually a sweetheart. Was it her plants? She does have some scary ones.”</p><p>Dark brown eyes watered, “No. I love Professor Sprout and her plants aren't <em> usually </em> scary. But not today. Today that w-was some demon! Or a monster! She fed anyone who couldn't answer her questions to the <em> Nepenthes </em> . S-she... she said that if they didn't think Herbology was an important subject to study, they were better off as <em> f-f-fertilizer </em> . I couldn't... I couldn't even scream or do anything. It ate <em> everyone. </em>” The poor girl choked up on the last word.</p><p>Dean pulled the terrified kid into a hug, “Hey, it's not your fault. There's nothing you could have done. Something must be wrong with Prof. Sprout. Go back to your dorms. We'll escort you after we lock the greenhouses so no one else can stumble onto the... the demon Professor Sprout OK?” The girl clutched at his arm while nodding numbly.</p><p>Padma cautiously approached the greenhouse doors. She peeked inside the glass structure. The main greenhouse had always been extended as needed, but today the back looked like a forest filled with vibrant foliage, each leafy appendage casting ominous shadows over the entire space. She tried not to think about the whole class of students being digested in the belly of some carnivorous plant.</p><p>When Padma confirmed Prof. Sprout was still inside tending her plants, she quietly cast the necessary spells over the entrances and snuck back swiftly.</p><p>The three walked back in silence and were steps from reentering the school when Padma realized they hadn't checked in on Hagrid. They reluctantly double-back. Dean and Padma weren't sure if they should be relieved or not to find the half-giant was not home. The hut looked hastily abandoned. Fang was nowhere to be found and the cupboards were all opened and emptied. They closed and warded it behind them just in case before heading back to the castle.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Seamus and Luna had a comparatively uneventful trip from the Charms classroom back to the Transfiguration room. The next class was idling inside and two dozen eyes peered at them when they arrived, clearly expecting Professor Weasley to finally show up. Seamus clapped his hands and ordered them to go back to the dorms as the professors had canceled all classes again.</p><p>The group of Sixth Years wasn't fooled. “Was... was it Professor Trelawney?” One brave soul asked.</p><p>Luna smiled sadly, “Sort of. There's something else going on with the professors. It'd be safer for everyone to be back at the dorms where you can take care of one another.”</p><p>Seamus continued, “Avoid them if you can. Stay together. Help the younger years stay clear as well. Some of us Seventh Years are doing our best to handle the situation without the adults, but we can't do it while taking care of everyone else too. You Sixth Years aught to step up where you can. We're going to tell the portraits to change their passwords and to deny the professors' access. We don't know if that'll stop them but it's the best we can do for now.”</p><p>The mix of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs straightened up immediately, prepared to do what was necessary. Most of them had experienced just how fast and ugly things could get.</p><p>“Come on, we need to lock the classroom so no one else accidentally comes in. We're heading to the DADA classroom to do the same and then we have to check the library. We'll escort you guys to your dorms afterward.” The combined group quickly made their way out of the classroom. Luna warded the door behind them.</p><p>When they reached the DADA classroom, no one was inside. Seamus threw up the spells and they all marched to the library.</p><p>A pair of Fourth Year students converged with them, “Hey, we've been waiting in front of the library all morning but they never opened.” The two gave each other weird looks, “We tried knocking but Madam Pince didn't answer.”</p><p>A snarl could be heard—Madam Pince—was clearly inside. “Oh go away you vermin! This library is no longer open to your dirty paws. Oh, don't listen to them, my<em> precious ones </em>... Not one more of my lovelies will leave this sanctuary. No, they won't,” the crazy witch cooed.</p><p>Luna stepped back and simply cast the two spells they were told to set up. Seamus shook his head before gesturing to the waiting students to follow. They rounded up any stragglers as they all headed back to the dorms.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Justin and Michael stumbled across Filch's crumpled body on their way to the infirmary. The man was unnaturally still and his eyes half open and unseeing. A fresh bloodstain marred the section of the wall that his body was leaning against. Two Firsties clung to each other, eyes wide with terror and guilt.</p><p>Justin crouched down and checked for a pulse. He found a weak one. He ran his hand over Filch's eyes to close them, too repulsed to keep looking while they were open as they were.</p><p>“What happened here,” Michael asked in the calmest voice he could muster.</p><p>“It was an accident!” One of the boys exclaimed, tears falling freely on his cheeks.</p><p>The other boy—a twin they realized as the resemblance was uncanny—jumped in, “Tony was just trying to m-make him stop. H-He didn't mean to throw him against the wall.” His mouth was all cut up and bloody spit flecked out while he was trying to explain. Justin wondered how he was even talking at this point. It was clear the boy needed medical attention.</p><p>Justin cast a healing spell on the poor kid—he had been working with Madam Pomfrey since the start of the year because he had aspirations to become a Healer in the future. He didn't know enough to handle head trauma, however. They'll need the Madam for that.</p><p>The kid sniffled in gratitude when the cuts around and in his mouth sealed up. A <em> Tergeo </em> took care of the remaining blood. Tony hugged his brother.</p><p>“What did the ornery bastard do to you? Did he hit you?” Michael snarled. He had never liked Filch.</p><p>Tony picked up a rusty and bloody instrument off the floor and showed it to the two Seventh Years. “He was shoving this into Derek's mouth. He kept calling him a liar and that he needed to be punished for it. He was trying to tell Filch he was going to the Hufflepuff dorms with me. I asked him to because I was scared.”</p><p>Derek, who was a First Year Ravenclaw, burst into tears again when he saw the monstrosity.</p><p>Both Justin and Michael recoiled from the medieval-like torture instrument—it was shaped a little like a sliced up pear with a handle attached at the top. The pear body was partially flowered open, its edges sharp and cruel. It was far too big to be fit in a kid's mouth and made it clear where the cuts had come from.</p><p>“<em>Fucking Filch </em>,” Michael cursed in his mind as he hastily grabbed the thing out of Tony's hand. He shrunk it and put it into his pocket for now until he had someone to report Filch's behavior to.</p><p>“It's OK. We know it was an accident. You're not in trouble,” Justin soothed as best he could. “We actually have to check on Madam Pomfrey now. We'll bring Filch along. She'll help. Come on.” The two boys tailed Justin and Michael closely as they headed up to the infirmary with the unconscious Filch floating behind them.</p><p>Fortunately, the infirmary was still open to visitors. Michael levitated Filch's body over to a bed while Justin called for the matron, “Madam Pomfrey! Madam Pomfrey are you in here?!”</p><p>“Coming boys, stop that yapping. You'll wake up my other patients.”</p><p>The two boys sighed in relief. A little too soon as they would find out.</p><p>Madam Pomfrey <em> looked </em> the same. She bustled over and <em>tsk</em>-ed at the sight of Filch. “Of course it'd be him. Horrible man. I'm surprised he hadn't been done in sooner.”</p><p>Justin and Michael look at each other, “He's just unconscious ma'am. Was knocked into the wall by some accidental magic,” Justin clarified.</p><p>The matron cast a silent spell and Filch's head was separated from his neck. The two eleven-year-olds screeched at the top of their lungs as blood splattered and drenched the bed. “Now none of that. He was all but dead. I just made sure of it. Now let's take a look at you two...”</p><p>Both Justin and Michael threw a stunner at the Head Nurse before she could fully turn around. She collapsed instantly.</p><p>Swallowing down their own fear for the sake of their young charges, the two older boys took stock of the other beds and only spotted one that had the curtains drawn. Michael pulled the curtain aside and turned a little green when he was greeted with the sight of Prof. Trelawney's body.</p><p>They'd have to lock up the infirmary. Justin decided it would be best to raid the medicine cabinet and absconded with as many potions as he could shrink and fit into a transfigured crate. </p><p>Michael pulled both Firsties out the door, clamping a hand over both of their mouths to shut them up. The four scurried out the door. Justin quickly cast the two spells to bind Pomfrey within the Infirmary.</p><p>The two drop the traumatized twins off at the Hufflepuff dorms—Derek declined a separate escort to the Ravenclaw tower—before making their way to the Room of Requirement.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Ernie and Hannah arrived at the Owlery without any issues. Unfortunately, they were presented with an empty roost. None of the school owls had returned. The two shared a worried glance. Without owls, they would have to get access to the Headmistress's fireplace to floo call for help. None of the other fireplaces had access with the lockdown in place. A dangerous endeavor when McGonagall was subject zero for whatever curse this was.</p><p>They headed off to the kitchens next. Thankfully, at least one of their two tasks were successful. They were greeted enthusiastically by a hundred House Elves who didn't know what to do with themselves after the Headmistress had told them to stop delivering food to the Hall and stay in the kitchens until further notice.</p><p>The two convinced the Head Elf that students were being sequestered in their dorms for their own safety and would appreciate getting their meals delivered there for the time being. The Elves jumped to do as they were told. Hannah also requested having enough for eleven to be sent to the Come-and-Go room. The two exited the kitchens in a better mood than they had entered with.</p><p>That was until they were greeted by the disapproving face of one Headmistress McGonagall. The two froze.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Susan cursed. Harry and Hermione's heads swerved towards her.</p><p>“Prof. McGonagall just caught Hannah and Ernie outside of the kitchens!” As if on cue, their charmed galleons heated up.</p><p>“Dammit,” Harry echoed. “You two stay here. I'll see if I can help.”</p><p>“What?! You can't go alone Harry! What happened to sticking together?” Hermione exclaimed.</p><p>“I'll go under the cloak Hermione. The point is not to be found. Hopefully, Ernie and Hannah already came up with a good enough excuse to get away from her. If not... I'll improvise. It'll be the three of us against her. We'll have the advantage.”</p><p>“Just be careful Harry.”</p><p>Harry gave her a smile full of false bravado before pulling the cloak over himself and dropping out of sight. The door creaked open and closed with a soft thud behind him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. For Those That Remained</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harry raced towards the kitchens. It was a long trek from the Seventh Floor to the basement.</p><p>His breath hitched when he found Prof. McGonagall hunched over two struggling felines. She immobilized them just as Harry got close enough to engage the insane Professor.</p><p>Wand already clutched in hand, Harry threw a <em> Stupefy, Immobulus, </em> and <em> Expelliarmus </em> at his Headmistress in quick succession.</p><p>The old matron avoided and deflected Harry's spells with nothing more than a twist of her body, a quick sidestep, and a flick of her wrist.</p><p>Harry grimaced. Either he had gotten rusty in the last few months or Prof. McGonagall was moving more quickly than her seventy-something body should ever be capable of.</p><p>“Looks like you're losing your touch Mister Potter. So much for the Savior of the Wizarding World,” the witch taunted with a jeer. Harry jolted—how had she identified him so quickly?</p><p>"I never understood why Albus gave you that cloak. It was just asking for trouble. Not that it matters. I can hear your footsteps boy."</p><p>"Why happened to you at the Ministry? Why are you doing this Professor?"</p><p>"Let’s just say I was freed of burdens I didn’t know I had. It’s fine if you don’t understand. You will soon enough."</p><p>Harry and McGonagall engaged in a duel that felt like it lasted hours instead of a few short minutes. At first, Harry clung to his cloak even though it was somewhat cumbersome. It provided a small amount of protection against debris and any slicing hexes she sent his way. Harry could only be thankful that the hall limited the Transfiguration Mistress's ammunition with how bare it was.</p><p>Halfway through the duel, the Professor finally landed a <em> Ventus </em> that blew the cloak down the hall. Harry didn't dare get distracted and continued to engage his opponent with more powerful spells, giving up stealth and safety to land hits on the wiry old lady. Prof. McGonagall landed a number of hexes and charms on him in return.</p><p>In the end, Harry only nailed the Professor down because Ernie heroically threw his newly freed feline self to attack Prof. McGonagall's ankles. She stumbled and went down in a heap, caught directly in the chest by Harry's latest spell. </p><p>By this point, Harry wasn't thinking clearly and had been throwing every spell he could remember, taking advantage of his superior reservoir of strength. He didn't care what he hit her with, only that he could disarm her afterward to ensure she couldn't attempt to attack him again.</p><p>He absentmindedly tucked the extra wand into his pocket before limping over to free Hannah who had yet to shake off the <em> Immobulus </em>as Ernie had. He collected the two felines and his cloak before doubling back to levitate Prof. McGonagall into the Great Hall and warding her inside. Then he made the painful trek back to the Room of Requirement.</p><p>He registered the shock on the reassembled group's faces before he passed out.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>When Harry came in collapsed with two cats in tow, Hermione's heart nearly stopped.</p><p>She quickly levitated his body and started casting every diagnostic spell she could think of while pleading to the Room to give them a bed for her to place him on. The Room obliged.</p><p>Hermione did her best to heal Harry's wounds and remove any lingering hexes or jinxes. Justin helped and advised Hermione to let Harry sleep until he woke up naturally just in case.</p><p>The rest of the DA had all arrived with news and Hermione wasn't looking forward to hearing it based on the dark expressions they sported to various degrees. At least they had food now. Hannah and Ernie must have accomplished their mission before being caught by McGonagall.</p><p>One by one, they summarized their experiences and concluded none of the adults in the castle were sound of mind anymore. That left the duty to the Head students, Harry and Hermione, and their handful of friends. Harry, Ernie, and Hannah were all down for the count so Hermione had to take lead.</p><p>“I'm going to stay here in the Room with Harry and... Hannah and Ernie, I suppose,” Hermione said as she glanced down at the cats. “This will be HQ until we figure out how to either leave Hogwarts or reverse the curse. Our last resort will be to sequester the entire student body here. The Room is still recovering from the Fiendfyre incident and I don't know if it will be able to accommodate all of us. Not to mention it'd be disastrous if one of the cursed gets inside.”</p><p>Neville piped up, “Maybe we can ask if it'll make us a tunnel to Hogs' Head. It did last year.”</p><p>Everyone tried to concentrate on the request but the Room didn't respond. It seemed whatever lockdown protections they had crafted with the restoration extended to the Room.</p><p>Hermione rubbed her temples. She wished this was just a nightmare. One she could wake up from.</p><p>“I need you all to split off to each of the Houses and keep watch over them. Neville, Ginny, Dean please take Slytherin. Luna, Susan go to Ravenclaw. Seamus, Padma take Gryffindor, and Justin, Michael go to Hufflepuff. The goal is to make sure no one leaves the dorms and keep a watch on the entrance. Try to come up with some kind of lookout schedule so if a professor does try to get in, someone can warn the students to defend themselves.”</p><p>“But is it really safe to just leave you here with Harry? He might still be hurt,” Ginny worried, “Ernie and Hannah can't exactly help you in their current state.”</p><p>Hermione nibbled her lower lip in consideration, “It'll be fine. Harry should wake up soon. Actually, Luna, take Hannah please. You and Susan have the best Transfiguration skills among us. See if you can reverse whatever Professor McGonagall did. I'll do the same with Ernie here while Harry's still down for the count.”</p><p>Luna picked up the feline as her response. She hissed a little when the feline swiped at her.</p><p>Hermione sighed and cast a healing spell at Luna's scratches, “Be careful. We still don't know how this curse is spreading. Try to avoid touching them if you can. Use the galleons if you need help. I'll... We'll figure something out.”</p><p>Soon Hermione found herself alone with an unconscious Harry and a cat that was acting pretty much like a regular tom. Any semblance of human intellect was absent as the cat bathed his privates with his tongue.</p><p>Hermione settled herself on a chair next to the bed and dropped her throbbing head onto the mattress. “Please wake up Harry. I can't do this without you.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>When Harry came back around, he was greeted by one hovering Hermione. The Room must have accommodated and given them a bed. It was sectioned off by curtains like in the infirmary.</p><p>“Harry! You're awake! Thank Merlin!” Hermione exclaimed, clamoring onto the side of the bed to peer down at him.</p><p>Harry didn't respond, staring unseeingly at the ceiling. The world was fuzzy at the edges and his body still ached from his duel.</p><p>“Harry?” Hermione tried again.</p><p>Harry blinked slowly. In a move too quick for the eye to discern, Harry found he had tugged Hermione on top of him and rolled the both of them over. Hermione let a belated shriek.</p><p>As Harry tried to catch his bearings, Hermione berated him for his manhandling, “What—what do you think you're doing Harry?”</p><p>As if they were the magic words, the world sharpened and Harry was no longer dazed.</p><p>Harry smiled beatifically before answering, “Taking what I want.”</p><p>Hermione gaped up at him and Harry's eyes immediately flicked down to her lips.</p><p>“W-what exactly—“ Her words were muffled when Harry took the opportunity to kiss her.</p><p>It was innocuous at first. A teasing kiss involving only the brush of his lips against hers. Harry pressed harder only when Hermione parted her lips slightly for him.</p><p>Then it was anything but innocent; he kissed her harder, more boldly as he tangled his tongue with hers.</p><p>She started to shove against him, words trying to escape her besieged lips. “Wa-it H-Harry. This—this... isn't right.”</p><p>Harry frowned and finally leaned back. He pushed himself up and sat Indian-style on the bed, “I love you, Hermione. How can this be anything but right?”</p><p>Hermione squawked as she scrambled to sit upright as well. Harry laughed at the strange sound and impeded her efforts by weaving his fingers between hers. She finally got up her legs under her, her hands still clutched in his.</p><p>“Harry! This isn't funny! You can't just—just—drop that on me!”</p><p>“You're the brightest witch of your age Hermione. Surely you've noticed how much I adore you. What with all those kisses on the cheek and the hugs—I thought you liked me too. Even Ginny said you had a crush on me. You can't convince me that you don't.” Harry's tone got almost childish in its insistence at the end.</p><p>Instead of answering, Hermione just cried out in pain, “Let go!”</p><p>Harry frowned and realized his grip had gotten too strong. He let go of her right hand and clasped her left in both of his. He pressed a kiss of apology against her trembling palm. “Sorry, Hermione. I didn't mean to hurt you. I just don't understand why we're not on the same page.” He pouted.</p><p>“We—you—“ Hermione spluttered, “This is hardly the time! What happened with Prof. McGonagall?” She tugged ineffectively at her still captured hand.</p><p>Harry's eyes narrowed, “I don't <em> want </em> to talk about her.”</p><p>“But Harry—“</p><p>Fed up with waiting, Harry whipped out his wand to encourage things along, but Hermione flicked out hers just as quickly.</p><p>They made a strange sight. One hand holding a wand to the other’s face; One hand intertwined with the other’s in a lovers' clasp.</p><p>“Don't do this Harry.”</p><p>“I'm not doing anything Hermione. You're the one being stubborn—“</p><p>“<em>Stupefy!” </em></p><p>“<em>Incarcerous!” </em></p><p>Harry was too slow. The world went black again.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Hermione's heart thudded in her ears. She rotated her wrist and flicked it to remove the magical bindings before quickly scampering off the bed. She snatched Harry's wand as she went, tucking it away for safekeeping.</p><p>“Please not Harry, please not him, please...” Hermione muttered frantically as she started to cast every counter-curse she could think of over his prone body. He had to have been cursed.</p><p>When she exhausted her extensive memory, Hermione cautiously enervated him back to awareness; her wand was still trained on him.</p><p>Harry's eyes flickered open, a gasp leaving him at the magical shock.</p><p>“Harry! How are you feeling?” What she really wanted to ask though was whether he remembered the last ten minutes.</p><p>Harry smiled sheepishly and Hermione was only slightly relieved by the familiar sight, “I've been better. A bit bruised up. Guessing you fixed up the cuts though, thanks. McGonagall definitely got me with a few slicing hexes. Er... I'm not quite sure why you're pointing your wand at me though. Is there something wrong?” His head tilted slightly to the right while his eyes widened and peered up. It was Harry Potter's infamous puppy look. The one that Hermione was hopelessly weak to.</p><p>Her voice wavered but her wand did not, “You woke up before a-and you were acting really weird. What happened with Prof. McGonagall? Did you see what she did to Ernie and Hannah?”</p><p>Harry flopped back onto the bed, hands tucked under his head. “I was too late. I only saw her freezing the cats by the time I got down to the basement. We dueled,” Harry's eyes seemed to darken at the memory, “Whatever the curse did, it changed her. She moved way too fast for a witch her age. I only got a good shot at her because of Ernie. I locked her in the Great Hall afterward. But none of the spells she cast were unfamiliar. Mostly just slicing hexes and some blasting curses. She couldn't transfigure much thankfully. Not enough to work with in the hall.”</p><p>"You sure she didn't cast anything strange?"</p><p>"Positive. None of her nonverbal spells hit me. Just a few minor <em> Diffindos </em> and the tail end of a <em> Confringo </em> . Oh, and a <em> Confundo </em>I think. But it must have been her last spell otherwise I wouldn't be here in one piece."</p><p>Surely that would explain it. Harry must have just been confused. He was normally sweet and considerate—not whatever that had been.</p><p>Just in case, Hermione shot the <em> Confundus </em> counter-charm on Harry again. He just quirked an eyebrow and looked expectantly at her.</p><p>Hermione finally lowered her wand and got up to pace. “Thank Merlin you made it back out alive then,” she noted as she rubbed at her temples. The mild throbbing was back. “The others returned but I split them up and sent them off to help monitor the four dorms. None of the other Professors are viable at this point. Hopefully, Hannah and Ernie got the letters off before they went to the kitchens. In the meantime, maybe we need to check if Slughorn has any Veritaserum in his stores. We could use it to interrogate Prof. McGonagall and see if she remembers who cursed her and with what... Maybe we can find another portrait of Snape while we're in the dungeons and see if he has any ideas too.”</p><p>Distracted by her thoughts, Hermione didn't notice Harry had McGonagall's wand twirling around his fingers the entire time. Not until his second <em> Incarcerous </em> spell hit her in the back. She cried out and teetered trying to find her balance. Her wand flew out of her loosened grasp and into his.</p><p>"Bloody hell Harry! What do you think you're doing? Let me go this instant!"</p><p>Harry got up and placed her wand carefully on top of the Marauder's Map.</p><p>“I told you. For once, I'm taking what I want. I tried to be nice about it, but I see you need the extra persuasion. That's fine. I can wait. It won't be long now. Then you'll see what I see. But first...”</p><p>Harry patted her down until he felt the outline of his own wand trapped behind the magical bindings. He slipped it free from her person. Afterward, he kissed her on the cheek as if Hermione had just handed it to him. Hermione was left speechless.</p><p>The Boy-Who-Lived whistled a merry tune as Hermione finally shrieked and flailed uselessly while he put her over his shoulder. Abnormally strong hands dug unforgivingly into her flesh as he manhandled her back onto the bed.</p><p>She could only watch aghast as Harry snapped Prof. McGonagall's wand in half and tossed the remnants into a fireplace that had appeared out of nowhere. The Room was shifting to accommodate Harry's desires.</p><p>The long table at the center of the room separated itself, the section with food retained on a smaller table that scooted farther away in the room. The benches disappeared and two chairs replaced them. The section with the Map, the Protean galleons, and her wand reformed as a console table that settled at the foot of the newly reformed four-poster bed. Their blackboard still remained on the far side of the room. The floor was now covered in carpet and the room shrank down to a standard size.</p><p>It looked reminiscent of their rooms in the Head dorm when it was done. The lights dimmed and shadows were cast all over the room as the newly added windows reflected the evening light.</p><p>A yowl was heard before it was cut off abruptly with a horrible squelch. Ernie the cat had been removed from the picture.</p><p>“Let me go Harry! Oh my god, <em> Ernie! </em>”</p><p>Eerie green eyes caught her panicking ones as he drew close enough for her to feel his breath brush her face. He mouthed his answer against her cheek, “<em>Never </em>.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Harry cuddled a screaming, writhing Hermione as he watched the shadows slowly make their way through her magical aura.</p><p>Her curses got more creative as the curse progressed. She bit down at his exposed collarbone and Harry let out a curse of his own. Yanking her hair back so her head was tilted up and away from his skin, Harry watched as her fear waned and fury filled her eyes. He smiled.</p><p>“Just let me know when, love.”</p><p>“Fuck you Harry.”</p><p>“Gladly, but only when I'm not in danger of losing my manhood.”</p><p>She hissed at him, her eyes flashing in warning, “Release me and you won't have to worry about it.”</p><p>“Hmm, a few minutes more than.”</p><p>Several long moments later, Hermione finally relaxed against his hold. She jutted out her lip, “Harry this is uncomfortable. Can you <em> please </em> remove the bindings?”</p><p>“Is that what you really want?”</p><p>“No, what I really want is to snog you. But I'd much prefer having my hands while doing so.”</p><p>“Your wish is my command.” The bindings disappeared.</p><p>This time it was Hermione that pushed Harry down, “We really shouldn't be doing this.”</p><p>Harry tugged at a cascading curl, “Who's there to stop us?” He pulled her down for a kiss.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>That first night passed with little incident.</p><p>The newly awakened Hermione wasn't too different from what Harry imagined. She was more openly affectionate, quicker to anger. Uninhibited in her voracity to explore new ideas—ones that she confessed to Harry as things she never thought would see the light of day.</p><p>But Harry reassured her. All he wanted was to be with her. If she wanted to carve her name onto his skin, he didn't care as long as he didn't bleed out.</p><p>Hermione graced him with a wicked smile.</p><p>The days and nights passed in a blur.</p><p>Their glowing Protean coins were clucked to a corner and forgotten. Harry was done being the Saviour. The others could go save themselves this time.</p><p>Or not. He found himself not caring either way.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>By the time Harry and Hermione finally deigned to leave the Room of Requirement, the curse had fully spread throughout the school. Every student from the most cautious Seventh Year to the most innocent First Year had been overcome. Either that or they were dead. Usually both.</p><p>It started with Luna. Hannah's scratch was all it took for the curse to take root.</p><p>She woke up the next morning talking about Nargles—which was the norm to any of the Ravenclaws who had grown up with her. They weren't even phased when Luna insisted anyone who couldn't see Nargles needed to have their eyes checked.</p><p>That's why all of them were caught off-guard when she smiled coquettishly and cast <em> Avada Kedavra </em> in quick succession at everyone who was present in the room. She skipped up and down the steps of the dormitory to murder the rest of her fellow Housemates. Only Susan was spared. Luna had left the Hufflepuff to sleep with a <em> Silencio </em> cast upon the room before heading out. Hannah the cat watched both witches in relative disinterest.</p><p>By lunchtime, all of the Ravenclaws were dead and their eyes reappropriated for in-depth study by one Luna Lovegood. Sixty-four pairs of eyeballs were stuffed into three huge glass jars filled with what could only be a preservation solution.</p><p>When Susan woke up to mutilated corpses littered all around her, she raced downstairs with an endless scream caught in her throat.</p><p>Luna happily greeted her friend, extolling her grand plans of making a hat out of her new collection. Susan fainted when she was confronted with the in-progress monstrosity.</p><p>When she noticed she had lost her audience, Luna awakened her with a <em> Rennervate. </em> Susan dry heaved and could only listen numbly as Luna waxed poetic about how she was going to leave Susan's eyes for last. “You're my friend so I don't want to touch yours until I get these working you see. Once I confirm they can see Nargles for themselves, then I can properly dedicate my time to making something special for yours. I'm thinking of a pretty set of glass frames. What do you think?”</p><p>Susan fumbled to get her wand out of her holster but once she had it in hand, she cast a stunner with no remorse. Too distraught by the latest development, she forgot to take Luna's wand nor ward the door.</p><p>Though in hindsight, it wouldn't have helped. Not when there were sixty-four other wands scattered throughout the dorm for Luna to use.</p><p>Susan sent an SOS on her Protean galleon as she ran back to the safety of the Hufflepuff dorms, unaware of the taint in her aura. Tucked into her own bed, Susan went back to sleep thinking she was safe.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>When the sun was high in the sky, a new Susan woke up. Michael and Justin came up to ask if she was OK and Susan cast <em> Imperius </em> on both boys. She forced them to round up all of the Hufflepuffs for her.</p><p>While they went to do her bidding, she worked on transfiguring a replica Wizengamot hat. When she got it shaped to match something she had seen her Aunt Amelia wear, she donned it proudly over her head and slipped on a set of black robes. Susan looked at the mirror and smiled at herself before heading over to the Common Room.</p><p>The assembled group of confused Hufflepuffs look at them for guidance. Susan tilted her head haughtily and her boys called for everyone to bring out their wands. Susan's pleased when the little ones do it immediately. The older ones, the ones who looked warily at the strangely behaving trio, took them out as well but in tight grips.</p><p>Susan dropped her facade and crackled, “Court is in session now boys and girls. And I'm going to be judge, jury, and executioner!”</p><p>With a sweep of her wand, Susan sent out a powerful <em> Expelliarmus </em> that wrenched most of their wands out of their hands and sent them flying every which way. A few of the Sixth and Seventh Years manage to resist and send out hexes and curses in their defense. Justin and Michael's bodies jerked themselves in front of Susan to block them.</p><p>Justin was dead by the end of the first barrage, caught by four stunners and a blasting curse that tore open a hole through his lower torso. His left leg went flying off.</p><p>The screaming started.</p><p>Michael was only in slightly better shape, but he managed to break out of the <em> Imperius</em>. Caught in the grip of the same curse, he turned around and got the jump on Susan. With an impossible surge of strength, he wrenched her wand from her grip, eliciting a furious shriek.</p><p>He threw the wand aside and got one hand around her throat to <em> squeeze</em>. With the other, Michael unshrunk the pear of anguish he had confiscated yesterday, and shoved it down Susan's throat. He shifted his hold to force her mouth close and cranked the torture instrument further open until Susan finally stopped clawing at him. The Hufflepuffs watched on in horror as she choked on her own blood.</p><p>For a moment, the room was eerily quiet aside from Michael panting. Then he collapsed like a rag doll, finally succumbing to the boiling curse he had been hit with earlier.</p><p>The remaining Hufflepuffs stampeded out of the dorms in search of help. Most of them didn’t make it very far.</p><p>Luna stopped by after collecting a few more eyeballs from students idiotic enough to leave the safety of their dorms. When she stumbled upon the dead bodies of her former friends, she merely frowned in consideration before shrugging to herself. She plucked all six eyes and placed them into a glittery bag. She waved her wand to preserve them before skipping off. Perched on her head was a grotesque hat with sixty-four pairs of reanimated eyes.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The next to fall was the Gryffindor Tower. All it took was one set of scared First Year twins to get Padma to lower her guard and let them into the Common Room.</p><p>The twins turned into devils that night and nearly a quarter of the students were slaughtered before Padma and Seamus had the heart to put the Firsties down. Stunners and other impediment spells just had no effect on the little terrors. The two Seventh Years tried sending messages on their charmed coins but when no response came, they rounded up the remaining Gryffindors and brought them all to the Room of Requirement.</p><p>They were first stupefied and then terrified when the door would not appear for them. They could only assume the curse had gotten Harry and Hermione as well. The Boy-Who-Lived and the Brightest Witch of her Age were no longer there to save the day and it scared the crap out of them.</p><p>Seamus and Padma knew they had to take matters into their own hands and headed to the Headmistress's Office. They hoped to use the floo network there to get the rest of them off to safety. If they came across the witch in question, they swore to put her down before she could do any harm to the rest of them.</p><p>Luckily Prof. McGonagall was sentimental and had kept Prof. Dumbledore's tradition of using candy names as the password. It took several minutes of them all shouting different brands before the stairwell was revealed.</p><p>To their relief, the Headmistress was not in her office. Their hopes were still dashed however when they found the floo non-functional. It wasn't an issue on their side, but rather the network itself.</p><p>That wasn't the worst of it though.</p><p>The Gryffindors found themselves screaming as six very hungry and very angry cats launched themselves from the walls to attack them. A number of missed freezing charms and stunners were cast before the felines were subdued. Most of them sported scratches or bites by the end.</p><p>Seamus wracked his brain and came up with their next idea. The ragtag Gryffindors were going to make their way to the Quidditch pitch and take the brooms. With luck, they'll be able to find a weak spot to fly out of the grounds. And if not, they could try sending SOS flares into the sky while staying out of reach from the infected.</p><p>Padma was distracted by one of the cats who had scratched her and then licked the wound. She swore it must be Parvati and opted to stay behind. Seamus tried desperately to persuade her otherwise, but she wouldn't budge. Her twin needed her here and she just wasn't good enough to both carry a cat and fly a broom. Seamus offered to hold her instead, but Padma didn't want to risk it. If she was going to die, she wanted to die with her sister.</p><p>Seamus parted ways with her reluctantly. Padma wished them luck. Seamus looked hopeless when he did the same.</p><p>Padma wouldn't find out that the group never made it to the Pitch until much later—the newly infected wizards and witches turned on each other soon after. But by then, Padma didn't particularly care. She was far too busy exacting her revenge on Prof. McGonagall's corpse.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>As for Ginny, Neville, and Dean, they had found out the hard way that Slughorn must have had a direct path from the Potions classroom to the Slytherin dormitory that they didn't account for.</p><p>The professor had already left his mark by the time the trio got there. They were met by a host of hostile Slytherins.</p><p>Dean was unfortunate enough to enter the snake's den first and was immediately greeted with an <em> Avada Kedavra </em>for his troubles.</p><p>Ginny and Neville immediately went on defense. They slowly force their way into the dorms driven partially by the need to avenge their friend's death and partially because they couldn't risk letting the Slytherins run free of their dorms.</p><p>Ginny was next to get caught by a spell—just a <em> Petrificus Totalus </em> thankfully. Neville quickly freed her but the damage had already been done.</p><p>At first, Neville was more than glad to see the tides turn as Ginny turned into a fury incarnate against their dwindling assailants. He figuratively bit his tongue when his girlfriend started using darker curses. However, he wasn't in a position to do anything about it while dueling both Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass, the only Seventh Year Slytherins to return this year.</p><p>He blacked out when a stunner finally took him down. The last thing he remembered was a livid Ginny casting <em> Avada Kedavra </em>at Zabini.</p><p>When he woke back up, he wholeheartedly ignored the dead bodies scattered around him. His head was being pillowed by Ginny's thighs and he was perfectly content to follow his Mistress wherever she chose to lead him.</p><p>Ginny smiled wickedly and snogged Neville voraciously. She led him towards the girls' dorms, flicking her wand non-verbally while her arms were still looping behind his neck in order to move the bodies and furniture out of the way. She shoved him down carelessly onto the nearest bed, right next to a long-dead Professor Slughorn.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>It was to be a quiet Christmas that year.</p><p>The Great Hall was mostly empty, its occupants consisting of only a few survivors who were too preoccupied to finish each other off. Christmas decorations were hung up courtesy to the still hardworking House Elves. A single towering pine tree stood tall at the front of the room.</p><p>Harry and Hermione sat as per usual at the Gryffindor table. Hermione was perched contentedly on her lover's lap. The witch was giving Harry happy kisses for the early Christmas present he had gotten her.</p><p>Luna was chattering away to herself next to a carefully arranged accessory collection at the Ravenclaw table. Eyeballs spun randomly on each piece, staring into the unknown. Luna petted them gently before skipping over to the Gryffindor table to join Hermione in admiring Harry's present.</p><p>Padma remained sequestered at the Ravenclaw table as far from Luna's grotesque creations as she could get. She had Parvati in her arms, scarred hands stroking the cat's well-preserved fur. Wrapped around her neck was a choker made of Prof. McGonagall's old skin. “<em>Spoils of war </em>”, the witch would remind her feline sister whenever the undead cat's fur brushed against it.</p><p>Ginny and Neville arrived late and settled onto the Gryffindor table. The former had the latter collared and chained. Following behind them was the ghost of one Dean Thomas. The newest edition to the Hogwarts ghosts chattered amicably away to Neville who only glazed in quiet reverence at Ginny.</p><p>None of the other ghosts dared to make a similar appearance. Not after what Hermione did to Peeves after the poltergeist had the gall to make fun of her new relationship with Harry.</p><p>Bill and Fleur had finally deigned to come out as well and claimed the former Slytherin table. The former curse-breaker was a frightful half-wolf, half-man freak show. A botched attempt at self-transfiguration, Hermione observed. It didn't seem to stop the newly feathered Fleur from cuddling with him anyway.</p><p>Hermione told Harry that she was still debating on the best way to kill Bill. The self-induced 'werewolf' could only snarl in her direction. If it weren't for Harry and Fleur pulling them to the farthest parts of the room, they probably would have dueled to the death right there and then.</p><p>None of the other Professors had made it.</p><p>Trelawney had been slain by her own hand—or by McGonagall's. They weren't actually sure about that. Only that McGonagall had died at Padma's.</p><p>Slughorn was eliminated by an unknown Slytherin. Ginny suspected Daphne Greengrass but the other girl wasn't around to confirm it, having been sliced in half by an angry Ginny during the fight in the Slytherin dormitory.</p><p>Flitwick had likely blown himself up soon after Harry and co. locked him inside his classroom. The entire room was covered in rotting flesh, bits of bone, and dried blood.</p><p>At some point, Neville checked on the greenhouses and wasn't pleased by the sight of Professor Sprout's haphazard pruning. She had been nibbling on the plants in lieu of food and Neville didn't appreciate it. So Ginny fed the demented witch to one of the carnivorous plants for him. He played there with Dean when Ginny was too bored to entertain him.</p><p>Hermione blasted her way into the library and eviscerated Madam Pince into dust for daring to lay claim to <em>her </em>library. Harry helped her setup blood wards to claim the space properly. It was the first time Hermione got to play around with sacrificial magic so she was a happy camper at the end of it.</p><p>Madam Pomfrey died from thirst, starvation, and self-mutilation as no one remembered to check on her for a whole month. Not that the witch had cared enough to call for a House Elf either. When Hermione finally recalled the Mediwitch, she only found the dead matron and a Frankenstein pet project made up of Filch, Prof. Trelawney, and Madam Pomfrey's own body parts. She burned the dead bodies down with <em> Fiendfrye </em>just in case the grotesque golem was reanimated before Pomfrey's death.</p><p>And so the survivors maintained their current status quo. The lockdown had kept the riff-raff out while leaving them with just enough room to keep out of each other's hair.</p><p>Harry had even found an exit out—not that he would tell anyone. He didn't want any interruptions with his new, peaceful life.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>It was late November when Harry found Hagrid's body lying in the Forbidden Forest during one of his morning broom flights. The half-giant had been mauled by Acromantulas based on the wreckage. He wondered in a detached manner why the spiders hadn't just eaten him. </p><p>Perhaps the spiders had recoiled at the writhing shadows of his magical aura. Perhaps they were smart enough to stay away.</p><p>Harry followed his fallen friend's steps and idly decided he would hold a grudge against the magical spiders in Hagrid's honor. It was a good excuse to stretch his magical muscles as no one back in the Castle would duel him anymore. Bill had lost a hand when he tried. Neville was nearly cut in half and Ginny took Harry's left ear in retaliation. Hermione took one look at him and <em>tsk </em>-ed. She didn't bother to avenge him. His personal harpy thought he deserved it for not finishing off Bill earlier when he had the chance. Harry was just lucky enough that Hermione liked his ears enough to regrow it back for him.</p><p>But he was digressing.</p><p>It was during his extermination efforts that he stumbled across a weak point in Hogwarts' defensive barrier. He found Fang's corpse next to it and he could only assume Hagrid had attempted to leave this way.</p><p>It didn't take much for the suped-up Harry to force his way through.</p><p>He closed the hole with a blood ward. Now only he could enter and exit this way.</p><p>A sharp crack cut through the air as Harry apparated into a deserted Hogsmeade. Not a single soul was in sight, just pecked, rotting corpses. He picked up a copy of the Quibbler where the only headline was '<em>The Ministry Has Fallen!' </em> sprayed across it.</p><p>Below were accounts of witches and wizards who openly attacked muggles, breaking the Statute of Secrecy without Ministry reprisal. Stories of muggles retaliating with witch-hunting also made the top half of the paper. The organized muggles easily overpowered the few witches and wizards who dared to show themselves. There were mentions of other Ministries putting up blockades against all visitors in a tiny article on the bottom left.</p><p>Harry unfolded the paper and found only a single bolded statement on the bottom half. It was a parting note from Luna's dad asking if anyone knew of a way to reanimate the dead to drop a note at the Quibbler’s HQ.</p><p>The paper was dated November 13th, a little over a month ago.</p><p>Harry shook his head and chucked the paper back onto the stand. Oh well, it wasn't his problem. He had done his job defeating the Dark Lord. Now he was going to spend the rest of his life doing only what <em>he </em>wanted.</p><p>He whistled cheerfully as he openly grabbed wrapped chocolates and valuable sugar quills from an abandoned Honeydukes before heading back to Hogwarts. He could already imagine the sparkle in Hermione's eyes when he presented her with his spoils. </p><p>He was sure he could trick her into thinking he had nicked it from some forgotten student’s stash.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The next time he left the castle, it was at Luna's request. Harry had no idea how she knew he had a way out of the castle, but it was her birthday and she wanted to send a letter to her father. If he was still alive.</p><p>In return, she would not speak a word of it to Hermione.</p><p>And so Harry found himself on Xenophilius Lovegood's doorstep talking to a corpse. Luna's mother was nothing more than bones with false flesh grafted to her, but she was kind and invited Harry into her home. Luna's father was happy to hear his dear Luna was still alive and asked Harry to bring around her corpse should that change.</p><p>Curious, Harry asked for the method in which he had brought back his wife. </p><p>Xenophilius was only too happy to share.</p><p>Along with a little tidbit to tickle Harry's fancy. He <em>had </em>looked into the Azkaban riot at Luna's request. Only a single Auror made it back to the Ministry to report the riot.</p><p>But Xenophilius made a personal trip to the prison and found it empty. All of the occupants were dead and so were many of the assigned Aurors including Ron. Xenophilius went to double-check each body against the list of prisoners and noted the missing body of one Lucius Malfoy. He didn’t print it in the Quibbler though and the letter he sent to Luna never arrived at Hogwarts.</p><p>Harry narrowed his eyes in consideration.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The third time Harry left the castle was to retrieve Hermione's Christmas present. He spent two days trampling through France, cursing all the way. He didn't like being so far away from his beloved, but his prey had hidden rather cleverly within the continent.</p><p>Not that it would be enough to keep a determined Harry away.</p><p>Blood flowed after Harry forced the reanimated corpse of Abraxas Malfoy to open up the wards that separated him from his quarry.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Back at Hogwarts, Harry smiled besottedly at Hermione. The witch had forgiven his omission about finding a way out of the castle after he hung his specially prepared ornaments on the Great Hall's Christmas tree.</p><p>He had gotten the idea when the silly witch started fretting about Trelawney's last prophecy again. Harry took a second look at the blackboard that was still up at the far wall of the Come-and-Go room. The green-eyed wizard decided to interpret it the way he wanted to and went about making sure it was properly 'fulfilled'.</p><p>He had popped back to 12 Grimmauld Place to browse the selection before embarking on his illicit tour of the French countryside. After snapping his victims’ wands right in front of them, Harry performed a Black family special to bind their magic before the curse could mutate it into something stronger. </p><p>It was their fault for interbreeding so much. Even Lucius had a close enough Black ancestry to be subject to the ancient family magic.</p><p>The strung up Malfoys made a fetching picture among the sparkly ornaments. The petrified trio was tussled up in Christmas red and green robes for the occasion. Their mouths were sewn neatly shut with cheerful silver and gold tinsel, and their hands and feet bound in strings of muggle Christmas lights.</p><p>He had dragged them back as such: charmed with a feather-light charm and hanging haphazardly from his broom.</p><p>Horrified eyes were spelled wide open though they still roved around in their sockets. Harry had decided they'd be better off as live test subjects for his inquisitive lover and had refrained from blooding them up too badly.</p><p>Harry nuzzled Hermione's temple in contentment.</p><p>Hermione flicked her finger causing Draco to shake uncontrollably. The lights wrapped around his limbs flickered to life. “Did I mention that I love you yet?” she said.</p><p>"Yes, but I do so love hearing it."</p><p>All's well that ends well as far as Harry was concerned.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Disclaimer: All rights to Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling.</p><p>Thanks for reading~ Happy Halloween! ꐑ(*ꐌ◡ꐌꐐ*)࿐࿔࿓</p></blockquote></div></div>
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